Phal Flowers Schrivelling up!

[lbunnell]

I bought an orchid plant about 6 weeks ago and it had four beautiful flowers and many buds, all the buds bloomed a new flower one by one and when it was finished the first flowers started to die. What is going on with this plant? I've never owned an orchid before. Is this a normal blooming/dying cycle for the flowers? I read a lot about the media draining etc, so I checked and it was quite mushy and not draining well. I removed the first 2 dead flowers and repotted it in new media bought from Home Depot. Orchid mix. Also, I bought some orchid food and I've been watering it only about 1-2x per week with the food. Now, another flower has shrivelled up! Should I remove this dying flower also? What is going to happen? Is this plant going to just keep losing flowers one by one? I've attached two pictures, one is from when I first bought it and before all the flower bloomed and one today where you can see the flower at the top is all schriveled up.

Any help would be wonderful!

Thank you,

[mayres]

Premature bloom fading is common among plants purchased already in bloom. It takes some time to adjust to their new environment compared to where they were raised. Underwatering, overwatering, cold drafts or hot stuffy environments with no air movement can cause premature blossom drop - lots of things. Be careful not to overwater - unless you live in a very warm environment 2X a week this time of year may be too frequent. Did you presoak your new media before using 24-48 hours? (assuming it was bark here). If not, you may have to soak it once a week now for an hour or so to get the bark to start holding more moisture. Typically a phal that blooms from scratch in your home can be expected to stay in bloom with all flowers for three months and longer.

[lbunnell]

Thank you for the input, I did not soak the media, so i guess I'll start soaking it now. I suppose it could be kind of stuffy in my apartment but I try to open the window once a day to get some fresh air in the room. It is February in NY so that causes cool drafts in the room...not good either. Should I remove the "faded" flower? After a normal 3 months of flowers staying in bloom, as you say, what happens next? Do they fall off? Do they regrow?

[mayres]

You will not have to remove anything. The flowers will just dry and fall off on their own. Once all of the flowers fall off you have a choice as to remove the spike entirely or cut back to just above the last node. Trimming back to the last node will sometimes lead to a secondary flower spike - with slightly smaller and less flowers - but flowers. Cutting the spike entirely puts 100% of the energy of the plant back into rejuvinating the plant for next year's flower spike. Having a little (silent) inexpensive 6-12" fan running on low in the vicinity of your plant can prove helpful in air movement - especially during the warmer time of the year - but anytime. Phals typically only bloom once per year - in a home/apartment environment I've found them to generally be in bloom for three months - then rebuild leaves and roots for six months - work on sending up a flower spike for approximately three months and then start the cycle over (times may vary depending upon environment and specific genetics of any individual plant). If you really get "hooked" you will enjoy the leaves and roots almost as much as the flowers! Enjoy

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

For a pleasing look, you will want to remove the faded flower. Bend the stem of the flower backwards toward the base of the plant and the stem should just pop off at the spike. Generally, don't cut into a plant if you don't have to, and always sterilize your tool when you do. Alcohol is not good enugh to sterilze a tool. Heat it, or soak it in a 10% bleach solution.

[lbunnell]

Thanks again for the responses. I soaked the entire pot in water for about an hour to try getting the bark to hold water a little longer. Also set my window heat unit to vent so that it will allow a little air flow in the room. Maybe this will help. You two have put my mind to ease just explaining the cycle of the plant and letting me know it is still adjusting to it's new environment. I'll be back on to ask more questions I'm assuming as it moves into another cycle. I do have one final question about cutting the plant back after all the flower have fallen off. So, this means that I cut the flower spike completely off so that it will just be a long stick and then another flower spike will come out of it? This sounds a little scary, but I will wait until all the flowers die naturally before I cut anything. Thanks again!

[mayres]

There are different thoughts on how to deal with flower spikes once they are done flowering. Some of this might depend upon the time of year that your phal was blooming. Since they normally only bloom once per year, if they have been forced off-season, they will potentially skip the normal blooming season (for example blooming in the fall when they would normally be getting ready to spike for spring). In this scenerio you might be more inclined to cut the spike just above the last node and hope for a secondary spike to form. On the other hand, if you had one this time of year you might want to remove the spike completely and let the plant charge up for the next spike in the late fall. Some people do not remove the spike(s) until it turns brown and others will cut them off immediately. The choice is yours. mike

[jerrymeola]

six weeks is not a bad length of time for Phal flowers. Many other families of orchids only last a couple of weeks.

You will often hear people say their plants lasted 3 months but that is because no one mentions when theirs is only average.

Heat and/or air conditioning can shorten the life of a flower.

[Ben Grader]

Being new to orchids I am wondering about watering. I know I must not over or under water but how much in quantity should I use?
I have a slipper and a moth orchid I was tempted into buying because they looked so unusual and different from the ordinary indoor pot plants.
The thing I am worrying about is how much water should I give them.
One teacupful? per week more? less? That quantity but in half the amount twice per week?
The flowers are so beautiful that I would hate to lose them through lack of the right attention. Previously all I have ventured to have is begonias and they can manage even when over watered as I was inclined to do.
I was very pleased to find this site because I am an indoor pot plant gardener with no experience whatever.
I have seen it mentioned that some large stores are sloppy when it comes to potting plants. I think my Paph may be 2 in one pot. There are 2 distinct lots of leaves coming up from the mixture. Could this be so?
If anyone thinks it is I can take a pic and put on site to ascertain whether it is ot not.

[mayres]

Welcome Ben -
The frequency of watering is what you want to be concerned with not the amount. In fact at least every few months you want to let a significant amount of water pour through the media to wash out excess mineral deposits that may be forming in the pots. In the meantime, be not afraid to let it run through quite a bit to assure you are getting the entire contents quite damp. Of course as in any plant - no sitting in water. As you have heard, overwatering frequency is probably the number one way doing orchids in - which will rot their roots - phals (moth orchids) are especially prone to this. It depends upon the media used and the environment as to how often to water those - wait until just before totally dry to re-water. Depending upon the time of year - for me that can be anywhere from 7-21 days. The paphs can be kept a little wetter. Depending upon the type and again conditions - for me this might be 1-2X week.
Paphs send up what is called a new "fan" every year. In fact, as they mature they might send up several new "fans" - these are NOT new/additional plants but under the media you will find they are extensions of the previous year's growth. Each year's new growth is what the new flower's will come on the next time. Both these orchid types can be expected to bloom once per year. Enjoy! mike

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

I highly recommend this technique until you have a feel for watering. Skewer use for watering of orchids